/S~z? 


\  a  . 
in  nt-' 

The  Church  School 
of  Missions 

A  HANDBOOK 

By 

WILLIAM  A.  HILL 


BAPTIST  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION 

DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSIONARY  EDUCATION 
276  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 
1926 


MODERNIZING 

MISSIONARY 

METHODS 


There  is  no  modernized  commission.  Our 
Lord’s  command:  “Go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  the  Gospel”  has  stood  un¬ 
altered  for  two  thousand  years. 

There  is  no  modernized  plan  of  salvation 
— 1 1  For  there  is  none  other  name  under 
heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we  must 
be  saved.” 

The  Christ  of  our  salvation  is  an  un¬ 
changing  Christ — “Jesus  Christ  the  same, 
yesterday,  today  and  forever.” 

But  in  carrying  out  the  unchanging  com¬ 
mission  to  give  an  unchanging  plan  of 
salvation  through  an  unchanging  Lord  and 
Saviour,  to  an  ever-changing  world,  we  may 
use  every  modern  discovery  and  method. 

The  men  and  women  who  insist  on  carry¬ 
ing  on  mission  work  exactly  according  to  the 
methods  of  our  fathers  should  be  required 
to  forego  street  cars,  telephones,  cables,  air 
mail  service,  and  radio  in  their  daily  living 
and  to  revert  to  stage  coaches  and  ox  carts 
or  to  cave-dwelling  customs. 

Missionary  methods  may  be  modernized 
without  becoming  devitalized  or  despiritu- 
alized. — Mrs.  E.  C.  Cronk. 

— Missionary  Review  of  the  World. 


A  MISSIONARY 

MEASURING  ROD 


“Our  Interest  in  Missions  Measures  our 
Christian  Character. 

“Our  Knowledge  of  Missions  Measures 
our  Christian  Attainment. 

1 1  Our  Participation  in  Missions  Mea¬ 
sures  our  Christian  Efficiency.” 

— Henry  C.  Mabie. 


V 

CHRISTIANITY 
IS  FUNDAMENTALLY 
MISSIONARY 

By  this  we  mean 

1.  That  the  missionary  ingredient  is  an 
original,  essential,  necessary  and  indis¬ 
pensable  major  element  in  it; 

2.  That  the  missionary  spirit  is  no  off¬ 
shoot  or  by-product,  but  belongs  to  the 
very  central  core  of  our  religion. 

3.  That  Christianity  is  not  itself  with¬ 
out  it; 

4.  The  professing  Christian,  who  does 
not  see  and  feel  this,  has  yet  to  learn 
what  real  Christianity  is. 

— Frederick  L.  Anderson. 


The  Church  School 
of  Missions 

v 

Page 

Definition  .  5 

Preparation  .  5 

I.  Committees  .  6 

II.  Leaders .  8 

III.  Pastor's  Relation  .  9 

The  Plan  .  9 

I.  Time  Period .  9 

II.  Time  Schedule  .  11 

III.  Study  Courses  .  11 

The  Method .  12 

I.  Supper  .  12 

II.  Class  Period  .  12 

III.  Prayer  or  Worship  Service  .  12 

IV.  Suggestions  for  Closing  Night .  14 

Missionary  Education  Standards  .  15 

I.  Certificates  and  Awards  .  15 

II.  Standards  .  15 

Materials  .  17 

Some  Results  .  19 

Successful  Church  Schools  of  Missions  ...  23 

Sample  Class  Attendance  Card  .  37 

Sample  Church  Publicity  Material .  38 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL 
OF  MISSIONS 

DEFINITION 


HE  Church  School  of  Missions  is  the 


A  new  idea  of  great  promise  in  mission 
study.  It  is  the  whole  church  membership 
organized  into  at  least  three  graded  classes, 
studying  simultaneously  for  a  period  of 
from  six  to  ten  weeks,  the  whole  world 


field. 


It  is  not  a  theory.  It  is  a  clearly  con¬ 
ceived  and  successfully  operated  plan  of 
missionary  education  which  seeks  to  include 
the  entire  church  in  its  classes.  It  has 
passed  beyond  the  experimental  stage,  and 
is  being  commended  on  every  hand. 

It  has  been  tried  by  many  churches  large 
and  small,  city,  suburban  and  rural,  in  our 
own  and  other  denominations  throughout 
the  United  States,  and  all  are  enthusiastic 
about  it. 

It  is  adaptable  to  local  conditions.  It 
works. 


PREPARATION 


Plenty  of  time  should  be  allowed  for 
preparation.  Plans  should  be  made  sev¬ 
eral  weeks  in  advance  and  in  close  coopera¬ 
tion  with  the  Pastor,  leaders  of  the  Sunday 
School  and  Young  People’s  Societies,  and 


5 


of  the  Women’s  Societies  and  Men’s 
Classes. 

A  missionary  cabinet  or  committee  may 
be  appointed,  made  up  of  representatives 
of  each  society  or  organization  in  the 
church,  and  this  may  become  the  function¬ 
ing  committee  on  the  Church  School  of 
Missions.  Where  there  is  a  committee  on 
Missionary  and  Religious  Education,  it  may 
be  charged  with  the  responsibility. 

This  Cabinet  or  Committee  should  ap¬ 
point  the  following  sub-committees  several 
weeks  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  school: 

I.  Committees 

1.  Committee  on  Courses  and  Leaders. 
This  committee  will  decide  on  sub¬ 
jects  for  study,  text-books  to  be  used, 
lecture  courses  to  be  given  (if  any), 
and  the  selection  of  teachers  for 
courses.  This  committee  will  also 
supervise  the  ordering  of  text-books. 

2.  Committee  on  Publicity  and  Pro¬ 
motion.  This  committee  has  an  im¬ 
portant  service  to  render.  It  will 
devise  and  use  appropriate  means  to 
arrest  the  attention  and  enlist  the 
interest  of  the  entire  church.  The 
following  suggestions  may  be  of 
value : 

Seek  the  pastor’s  counsel  and  ask 
him  to  preach  on  the  Church  School 
of  Missions  as  a  theme. 

Have  printed  an  advertising  an¬ 
nouncement.  (See  sample  in  back 
of  this  booklet.) 

6 


Place  notices  in  weekly  calendars, 
if  issned. 

Post  announcements  on  bulletin 
boards.  One  large  church  placed 
this  responsibility  in  the  hands  of 
a  group  of  young  business  men,  who 
systematically  cultivated  the  entire 
church  for  weeks.  This  school  en¬ 
rolled  400  members. 

Use  local  newspapers  wherever 
possible. 

3.  Committee  on  Enrollment.  This 
committee,  cooperating  with  the 
Committee  on  Publicity,  will  seek 
to  enroll  the  class  attendance  in  ad¬ 
vance  of  the  opening  of  the  school. 
Printed  enrollment  blanks  or  cards 
make  this  an  easy  task.  (See  sample 
in  back  of  booklet.) 

4.  Committee  on  Equipment.  This 
committee  will  see  that  the  necessary 
rooms  are  secured,  that  tables, 
chairs,  blackboards,  maps  and  stere- 
opticon  are  in  place  and  that  the 
heating  and  lighting  are  satisfactory. 

5.  Committee  on  Special  Features.  This 
committee  will  render  special  ser¬ 
vice  wherever  it  is  desirable  to  con¬ 
clude  the  School  with  a  Pageant,  or 
Missionary  Play,  or  Stereopticon 
Lecture.  Such  a  committee  should 
make  its  plans  early.  The  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Missionary  Education  will 
furnish  suggestions  for  dramatic 
materials,  and  costumes  may  be 


7 


rented  from  the  Department.  Ask 
for  Costumes  Folder.  Write  Stere- 
opticon  Department  for  titles  of 
Slide  Lectures. 

II.  Leaders 

It  is  important  that  local  schools  should 
develop  local  leaders  or  teachers  so  far  as 
possible.  It  is  a  mistake  to  import  special¬ 
ists  to  teach  classes  in  the  School  of  Mis¬ 
sions.  A  specialist  attracts  undue  attention 
from  other  classes,  and  individual  study 
and  discussion,  which  are  most  important, 
are  interrupted.  The  permanency  of  the 
school  is  best  assured  by  using  locally 
trained  leaders.  College,  high  school  and 
grammar  school  teachers  are  at  once  the 
preferred  class  from  which  to  recruit  the 
teaching  staff. 

A  teachers  ’  training  class  led  by  the 
pastor,  a  professional  man,  or  a  Normal 
teacher,  is  an  admirable  method  for  secur¬ 
ing  teachers.  Such  a  class  should  be  held 
prior  to  the  opening  of  the  school. 

No  training  plan  is  superior  to  the  fol¬ 
lowing  :  Encourage  leaders  and  prospective 
teachers  to  attend  a  Summer  Conference 
where  special  preparation  is  afforded  un¬ 
der  missionary  specialists.  The  Mission¬ 
ary  Education  Movement  Conferences 
are  conducted  for  this  special  purpose. 
(Write  for  information.) 

Note:  In  Southern  California  the 

churches  pick  out  their  leaders  for  the  dif¬ 
ferent  study  classes,  months  in  advance, 
and  send  them  to  the  Asilomar  Conference, 
in  many  instances  paying  their  expenses. 

8 


III.  Pastor’s  Relation 

Experience  shows  that  in  almost  every 
case  where  a  Church  School  of  Missions  has 
been  a  conspicuous  success,  it  has  had  the 
enthusiastic  backing  of  the  Pastor.  Often 
he  has  trained  the  leaders,  sometimes  he  has 
taken  a  class  in  the  School. 

He  should  usually  have  the  closing  period 
of  worship  in  his  care.  In  preparation  for 
the  School,  and  it  may  be  also  to  tie  up  its 
impressions,  he  should  make  missions  and 
the  large  ideas  of  the  School  prominent 
in  his  preaching.  No  one  can  better  adver¬ 
tise  the  School.  If  he  assumes  the  attitude, 
“Here’s  a  great  opportunity  and  we’re  all 
going  to  make  the  most  of  it,  ’  ’  he  can  great¬ 
ly  stimulate  attendance. 

The  Pastor  will  want  to  keep  very  close 
to  the  work  of  the  School,  and  the  impres¬ 
sions  being  made  in  it,  that  he  may  conserve 
its  results. 


THE  PLAN 

I.  Time  Period 

Two  sessions  of  the  Church  School  of 
Missions  are  recommended,  one  in  the 
autumn  for  the  study  of  the  Home  Mission 
Theme,  and  another  session  in  the  period 
between  January  first  and  Easter,  for  the 
study  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Theme.  In 
case  it  is  impossible  to  conduct  two  schools, 
classes  for  both  Home  and  Foreign  texts 
should  be  planned. 

<  The  well-planned  Church  School  of  Mis¬ 
sions  should  have  at  least  six  study  sessions 


9 


meeting  weekly  at  such  an  hour  as  may  be 
best  adapted  to  the  local  conditions.  The 
closing  session  later  referred  to  should  be 
an  extra  session,  which  may  be  held  on  a 
Sunday  evening. 

The  School  may  be  held  at  any  one  of  the 
following  hours,  depending  upon  local  re¬ 
quirements  : 

1.  Evening  of  regular  mid-week  prayer 

meeting. 

The  majority  of  churches  in  the  east 
prefer  the  regular  mid-week  service 
because  it  avoids  another  appoint¬ 
ment  and  in  many  cases  has  solved 
the  problem  of  attendance  at  the 
prayer  meeting.  Adjournment  from 
classes  to  prayer  service  benefits 
both  school  and  church. 

2.  Special  evening. 

In  some  communities  it  is  desirable 
to  hold  the  school  on  a  special  eve¬ 
ning.  The  choice  should  fall  upon 
the  evening  which  promises  the  at¬ 
tendance  of  the  largest  proportion 
of  the  congregation. 

3.  The  Bible  School  hour. 

Other  churches  wishing  to  secure  co¬ 
operation  of  adult  and  young  peo¬ 
ple’s  groups  in  the  Church  School 
of  Missions  have  scheduled  the 
classes  at  the  regular  Bible  School 
hour  for  a  period  of  six  weeks,  using 
the  text-books  for  all  grades.  (See 
instance  of  Baptist  Church  at 


io 


Shinglehouse,  Pennsylvania,  noted 
in  back  of  booklet.) 

4.  Sunday  evening  Young  People’s 
hour. 

This  is  the  night  most  favored  by 
our  churches  in  the  far  west,  where 
great  enthusiasm  attends  the  plan. 
The  Young  People’s  Society  co¬ 
operates  by  giving  up  its  regular 
service  and  becoming  one  of  the 
classes  of  the  Church  School  of  Mis¬ 
sions  during  this  period. 

II.  Time  Schedule 

The  time  schedule  must  be  locally  ar¬ 
ranged. 

The  following  arrangement  is  common 
and  suggestive : 

6  :00-6  :45 — Supper. 

6  :50-7  :50 — Classes. 

8  :00-8  :45 — Prayer  or  Sunday  Evening 
Service. 

III.  Study  Courses 

Most  churches  will  wish  to  use  the  cur¬ 
rent  mission  study  books  on  Home  and 
Foreign  Missions.  Some  may  wish  to  study 
some  special  field  or  theme  within  the  broad 
range  of  Home  and  Foreign  Missions. 
Some  will  wish  to  include  classes  in  Stew¬ 
ardship  and  in  the  Missionary  Message  of 
the  Bible.  We  strongly  urge  that  both  the 
last  named  subjects  be  included. 

The  number  of  classes  will  depend  upon 


ii 


church  membership  and  leaders  available. 
Each  Church  School  should  include  classes 
for  all  grades  whenever  this  is  possible. 
Special  study  books  for  men’s  classes  and 
special  groups  will  be  recommended  by  the 
Department  of  Missionary  Education  on 
request,  together  with  lists  of  current  study 
books  and  other  valuable  materials. 

THE  METHOD 

I.  Supper 

It  is  a  good  arrangement  to  have  the 
memoers  of  the  School  come  directly  to  the 
church  from  their  work.  A  simple  supper 
may  be  served,  thereby  affording  social  fel¬ 
lowship  and  a  saving  of  time. 

II.  Class  Period 

Immediately  following  the  supper  each 
class  should  meet  its  own  leader  in  a  sepa¬ 
rate  room  for  at  least  an  hour  of  intensive 
study  and  discussion.  The  best  work  will 
be  secured  by  a  leader  who  doer,  not  lecture 
nor  narrate  missionary  incidents  merely, 
but  who  uses  maps  and  charts,  makes  as¬ 
signments  and  asks  questions  leading  to 
discussion.  A  room  where  teacher  and 
students  can  sit  around  a  large  table  makes 
an  ideal  arrangement. 

III.  Prayer  or  Worship  Service 

This  will  depend  upon  the  night  chosen 
for  the  work.  If  it  is  a  regular  prayer 
meeting  evening,  a  period  of  prayer  will 
follow  the  class  study.  The  pastor  may 


12 


wisely  dovetail  his  service  into  the  study 
class  theme.  The  following  suggestions 
may  be  of  value: 

1.  Talk  on  the  spiritual  values  in  mis¬ 
sionary  service. 

2.  Use  of  the  prayer  calendar. 

3.  Use  of  the  missionary  hymns  of  the 
church. 

4.  Call  for  two-minute  reports  from  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  each  mission  study 
class. 

5.  Special  intercession  for  those  looking 
forward  to  Christian  service. 

The  following  suggestions  may  be  found 
helpful  if  the  School  is  held  on  a  week-day : 

1.  Ten-minute  “surprise’’  program  giv¬ 
en  before  assembled  school  each  night. 

2.  A  dramatic  sketch. 

3.  An  exhibition  of  missionary  curios; 
an  interesting  story  told  with  the  ex¬ 
hibit  of  a  curio. 

4.  Two-minute  reports  from  the  classes. 

5.  Ten-minute  stereopticon  pictures. 

6.  Special  prayer  for  fields  studied. 

If  Sunday  evening  is  used  (and  this  has 
proved  to  be  a  very  popular  time),  the 
preaching  service  may  be  changed  into  a 
continuation  of  the  School  with  appropriate 
lectures  illustrated  by  stereopticon,  or  with 
a  returned  missionary  speaker,  or  some  es¬ 
pecially  prepared  missionary  address. 


13 


One  of  the  oldest,  largest  and  most  suc¬ 
cessful  Schools  of  Missions  is  in  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Redlands,  California. 
They  have  a  large  wall  map  of  Asia,  with 
an  electrically  lighted  cross  above  it. 
Golden  chains  extend  from  the  cross  to 
each  one  of  our  Baptist  Mission  Stations. 
When  the  whole  school  stands  and  begins 
the  hymn,  “0  Zion,  Haste,  thy  Mission 
High  Fulfilling,  ’  ’  the  lights  flash  out  on  the 
cross  and  remain  during  the  singing.  This 
is  a  feature  of  every  Sunday’s  session. 

Another  successful  device  is  to  have  a 
large  map  of  the  United  States  with  Baptist 
Mission  Stations  marked  by  tiny  electric 
light  bulbs  so  attached  that  different  col¬ 
ored  lights  may  be  flashed  on  the  various 
fields. 

IV.  Suggestions  for  Closing  Night 
of  the  School 

1.  A  resume  of  the  findings  of  the 
classes  in  their  study  of  the  subject. 

2.  A  public  debate  on  some  topic  in  the 
study  book. 

3.  Exhibition  of  hand-work.  In  addition 
to  hand-work  prepared  by  the  chil¬ 
dren,  this  might  include  White  Cross 
work  with  short  talks  telling  where  it 
is  to  be  sent  and  some  of  the  needs 
it  will  fill. 

4.  An  address  by  a  missionary,  or  a 
stereopticon  lecture  on  the  subject 
studied. 


14 


5.  A  pageant  in  which  different  classes 
present  some  part  or  episode. 

6.  Life  decision  meeting. 


MISSIONARY  EDUCATION 
STANDARDS 

The  Department  of  Missionary  Educa¬ 
tion  has  received  frequent  requests  for 
some  form  of  recognition  for  work  done 
in  Mission  Study. 

After  careful  study  and  conference  with 
the  Missionary  Societies,  and  in  coopera¬ 
tion  with  them,  Missionary  Education 
Standards  are  issued,  and  certificates 
awarded  as  follows : 


Certificates  and  Awards 

A  Certificate  will  be  given  by  the  Department 
of  Missionary  Education  to  each  church  winning 
100  or  more  points,  for  classes  beginning  on  or 
after  May  1,  1924.  The  number  of  points  will  be 
stated  on  the  certificate. 

A  Trophy  will  be  awarded  to  the/  District 
reaching  the  highest  percentage  of  points  on  these 
Standards  in  proportion  to  its  membership.  Trophy 
may  be  retained  until  won  by  another  District. 


Standards 

Bible  School 


Points 


Systematic  presentation  of  Missions  in  the 
Bible  School. 

For  each  quarter  in  which  Missions  is  sys¬ 
tematically  presented .  10 


15 


Plays  and  Pageants  Points 

By  this  is  meant  the  longer  productions. 
Short  plays  or  episodes  should  classify  as  a 
part  of  programs  .  10 

Debates 

A  missionary  debate  for  which  careful  prep¬ 
aration  has  been  made .  10 

Summer  Conferences 

Attendance  Missionary  Summer  Conference, 

Assembly  or  Institute  .  10 

Any  church  having  representation  in  Mission 
Study  Classes  in  Summer  Conference,  Assembly 
or  Institute. 

Program  Meetings 

At  least  five  meetings  on  one  or  more  study 
books  or  other  missionary  topics .  10 

Reading  Courses 

5%  of  total  church  membership  reported  in 
last  State  Annual,  reading  five  books  in  Na¬ 
tional  Missionary  Reading  Contests .  25 

Mission  Study  Classes 

1.  Lecture  Course 

Lecture  course  on  missions  in  the  local 
church,  consisting  of  at  least  six  meetings...  10 

Children’s  groups  in  which  the  study  book 
is  presented  by  the  leader  in  story  form — at 
least  six  meetings  counting  as  a  course .  10 

2.  Discussion  Class 

Reading  groups  which  cannot  make  previous 
preparation  but  which  meet  at  least  six  times 
for  reading  and  discussing  any  study  book...  10 

3.  Delay  Study  Class 

The  Relay  Study  Class  is  one  in  which  the 
chapters  of  the  study  book  are  presented  by 
different  persons,  in  at  least  six  meetings,  re¬ 
viewing  the  main  points,  adding  outside  facts 

16 


Points 

and  incidents.  Questions  should  be  assigned  in 
advance  by  the  leaders  and  points  discussed  by 
members  of  the  class . 15 

4.  Extensive  Study  Class 

Large  class  in  which  one  leader  presents  the 
book.  The  members  read  their  text-books,  pre¬ 
pare  topics  assigned  by  the  teacher  and  spend 
part  of  the  time  in  discussion,  meeting  at  least 
six  times  but  not  doing  what  can  be  called 
intensive  work  .  20 

5.  Intensive  Study  Class 

The  Intensive  Study  Class  is  the  ideal 
method.  It  is  usually  limited  in  numbers,  its 
members  owning  and  studying  their  text-books, 
meeting  together  for  a  period  of  weeks  of  in¬ 
tensive  study  under  the  direction  of  a  leader 
who  does  not  lecture  nor  narrate  missionary 
incidents  merely,  but  who  uses  maps  and  charts, 
makes  assignments  and  asks  questions  leading 
to  discussion  .  35 

Note:  No  additional  credit  is  given  for  a  Church  School 

of  Missions,  since  each  class  in  the  Church  School  receives 
credit  according  to  its  type. 


MATERIALS 

1.  The  Current  Mission  Study  Text-Books 

See  folder,  “  Mission  Study  Books,  ”  supplied 
by  the  Department  of  Missionary  Education  on 
request. 

For  Classes  in  Stewardship 

“Stewardship  for  All  of  Life,”  Lovejoy,  cloth, 
75  cents. 

“The  Larger  Stewardship, ’ ’  Cook,  cloth,  $1.00; 
paper,  25  cents. 

“The  Stewardship  of  Life,”  Agar,  cloth,  75 
cents. 


17 


2.  Helps  for  Study  Class  Leaders 

“The  Mission  Study  Class  Leader’’  (revised;, 
T.  H.  P.  Sailer,  cloth,  $1.00  ;  paper,  75  cents. 
“Mission  Study  Class  Manual” — 

B.  C.  Millikin  .  10  cents 

“Suggestions  to  Leaders”  or  “How  to 

Use”  for  each  study  book .  15  cents 

Mission  Study  Class  Enrollment  Card. .  Free 

Missionary  Education  Standards  folder  Free 

Mission  Study  Text-books  folder . Free 

MISSIONS — Single  annual  subscription  $1.25 
In  clubs  of  five  or  more. .  $1.00 
“The  Missionary  Review  of  the  World,” 

per  year  .  $2.50 

Note:  .  The  City  Library  is  a  valuable  aid,  and 
will  provide  books  and  lists  of  references  if  pre¬ 
viously  requested. 

3.  Sunday  School 

Sunday  School  Graded  Missionary 
Stories  . .  35  cents 

Sunday  School  and  Study  Class  Pic¬ 
ture  Charts  .  35  cents 

4.  Programs  and  Organizations 

Programs  and  Literature  Packets  on 
Current  Themes .  35  cents 

Literature  of  the  World  Wide  Guild 
and  Children’s  World  Crusade. 

5.  Reading 

The  Stewardship  Library. 

Model  Missionary  Libraries  folder  (re¬ 
vised)  .  Free 

National  Missionary  Reading  Contests 
folder  .  Free 

6.  Dramatic 

i  i  Introduction  to  Dramatic  Sketches  of 

Mission  Fields.” 

Pageants  and  Plays.  (Information  fur¬ 
nished  on  request.) 

Costumes,  “Costumes  of  the  Mission 
Fields,”  (folder)  .  Free 


18 


SOME  RESULTS 


Out  of  the  many  letters  reporting  Church 
Schools  of  Missions  in  our  denomination 
we  have  selected  typical  instances  giving  a 
variety  of  results. 

What  the  Church  School  of  Missions 
Did  for  the  Temple  Church, 

Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  1923 

“It  aroused  great  enthusiasm  among  all 
our  people. 

“It  furnished  instruction  and  inspiration 
for  completing  the  New  World  Move¬ 
ment  financial  campaign. 

“It  brought  a  great  spiritual  blessing  to 
the  whole  church.” 

— J.  Whitcomb  Brougher,  Pastor. 

The  Three  Year  Record  of  This  Church 
Year  Attendance  Average 


401 

452 

732 


2404 

2714 

4391 


1921 

1922 

1923 


First  Baptist  Church, 

Rome,  N.  Y. 

“Our  church  people  feel  tremendously 
repaid  for  the  venture  of  a  Church  School 
of  Missions.  As  a  creator  of  an  urgent 
atmosphere,  the  School  was  an  abounding 
success.  One  of  our  very  strongest  men, 
who  previously  had  been  interested  in  New 


19 


World  Movement  matters  mostly  from 
the  financial  side,  praised  the  educational 
feature  unstintedly.  Many  wanted  to  con¬ 
tinue  the  study  weeks  longer. 

“The  effects  will  last.  For  instance,  we 
are  to  have  a  Church  Committee  on  Litera¬ 
ture  through  whom  a  number  of  things  will 
be  worked  out,  such  as  Workers’  Library 
for  the  Church  School,  Reading  Courses  in 
Missionary  Education,  Campaign  in  Maga¬ 
zine  Subscriptions  and  perhaps  a  Church 
Book  Table.  Some  of  our  outstanding  peo¬ 
ple  have  been  reading  quite  widely  in  refer¬ 
ence  and  supplementary  books.  We  feel 
without  reservation  that  we  have  made  such 
a  success  of  the  School  as  shall  make  its  re¬ 
currence  desired.” 

First  Baptist  Church, 

McMinnville,  Oregon 

“The  six  weeks  period  of  intensive  mis¬ 
sion  study  of  the  Home  Mission  book  began 
with  an  attendance  of  163  in  the  classes 
and  closed  with  297,  all  keenly  anxious  for 
the  beginning  of  the  Foreign  Mission  course. 
A  state  worker  who  preached  in  the  church 
on  the  closing  night  requested  those  who 
had  definitely  determined  to  do  some  type 
of  Christian  service  to  rise.  Between 
eighty  and  one  hundred  filed  up  to  the 
platform.  Following  this  with  an  invita¬ 
tion  to  those  who  would  give  Christ  right 
of  way  in  their  lives  and  who  would  settle 
upon  no  vocation  without  first  considering 
Christ ’s  claim  to  their  service,  twenty-seven, 
most  of  whom  were  high  school  or  college 
students,  stood  up.” 


20 


First  Baptist  Church, 

Everett,  Washington 

“After  three  years  of  trial  it  is  our  con¬ 
viction  that  the  Church  School  of  Missions 
is  the  most  practicable  and  effective  means 
yet  devised  for  bringing  the  missionary 
task  and  achievements  to  the  attention  of 
the  whole  church  and  its  constituency. 
Among  the  benefits  are  these :  a  realization 
of  the  world’s  needs;  a  better  understand¬ 
ing  of  the  many  avenues  of  Christian  ser¬ 
vice;  such  a  knowledge  of  missionary  work 
and  of  the  nations  of  the  world  as  gives 
reality  and  concreteness  in  one’s  thinking 
of  them;  while  the  missionary  entertain¬ 
ment  which  has  each  year  followed  the 
School  has  made  a  strong  appeal  to  a 
larger  constituency  than  that  reached  by 
the  School  directly.” 

First  Baptist-Peddie  Memorial 

Church,  Newark,  N.  J. 

“At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Church 
School  of  Missions  held  last  year  in  the 
church,  Deacon  Sherwood,  who  was  teach¬ 
ing  the  Men’s  Class  on  ‘The  Bible  and 
Missions,’  was  so  impressed  with  the  desire 
of  the  class  to  go  on  that  he  arranged  for 
them  to  organize  a  Men ’s  Missionary 
Society.  Thirty  charter  members  joined 
that  night.  The  next  year,  Deacon  Sher¬ 
wood  not  only  taught  this  class  of  men,  but 
also  another  class  in  a  neighboring  church.  ’  ’ 


21 


First  Baptist  Church, 

Creston,  Iowa 

Some  weeks  after  the  close  of  the  Church 
School  of  Missions,  the  pastor  sent  in  the 
following  results: 

“Our  church  is  now  in  the  midst  of  a 
quiet  revival.  Twenty  have  been  recently 
baptized  and  five  more  will  probably  be 
baptized  next  Sunday.  Five  others  have 
come  into  the  church  by  experience.  Still 
others  are  interested  and  we  look  for  them 
to  confess  the  Saviour  soon. 

“The  revival  interest  that  now  prevails 
has  been  credited  by  some  directly  to  the 
influence  of  our  Church  School  of  Missions. 
It  would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  our 
present  interest  is  due  to  the  fact  that  early 
last  fall  our  church  adopted  a  program  for 
the  year  adapted  from  the  one  recom¬ 
mended  by  the  Northern  Baptist  Conven¬ 
tion.  Since  the  new  year,  we  have  been 
strenuously  carrying  forward  our  plans 
that  included  the  Church  School  of  Mis¬ 
sions,  the  Stewardship  Campaign  in  Febru¬ 
ary,  a  pastoral  Evangelistic  Campaign  be¬ 
ginning  March  first  and  functioning  largely 
through  the  B.  Y.  P.  U.  and  Sunday 
School,  and  also  the  denominational  Con¬ 
tinuation  Campaign. 

“As  a  direct  result  of  the  Church  School 
of  Missions,  we  have  two  organizations — a 
Junior  B.  Y.  P.  U.  and  a  Junior  W.  W.  G. 
I  have  conducted  a  Saturday  afternoon 
Children’s  Class,  preparatory  to  baptism 
and  church  membership,  and  I  have  been 
greatly  interested  by  the  missionary  char¬ 
acter  of  the  prayers  that  the  children  have 
offered.” 


22 


SUCCESSFUL  CHURCH 
SCHOOLS  OF  MISSIONS 

On  Special  Week  Night 

Emerson  Ave.  Baptist  Church, 

Indianapolis,  Ind. 

The  Emerson  Avenue  Baptist  Church  of 
Indianapolis,  Paul  Judson  Morris,  minis¬ 
ter,  conducted  a  seven  weeks’  school 
of  missions.  One  evening  each  week  for 
seven  consecutive  weeks  the  church  met  for 
supper  at  six-thirty  o’clock.  The  evening 
meal  was  followed  by  a  devotional  period, 
after  which  four  groups — Adults,  Young 
People,  Junior  and  Primary — assembled  for 
a  forty-five  minute  study  period,  using  the 
Foreign  Mission  text  books  on  Japan. 
After  the  class  hour  the  church  again  re¬ 
assembled  in  the  gymnasium  for  a  social 
hour  which  lasted  until  nine  o’clock. 

The  attendance  ranged  from  80  to  150, 
Only  two  evenings  did  the  attendance  drop 
below  the  one  hundred  mark.  Especially 
notable  was  the  attendance  and  interest  of 
the  men  and  the  young  people  during  the 
sessions  of  the  school. 

The  instruction  was  supplemented  by 
the  presentation  of  dramatic  sketches  by 
the  young  women  of  the  church  and  by  the 
use  of  the  stereopticon  lecture,  “Fighting 
for  Character  in  the  Cities  of  J apan.  ’  ’ 

In  addition  to  these  classes,  six  groups 
of  women,  with  an  enrollment  of  over  fifty, 
under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  C.  M.  Dins- 
more,  wife  of  the  Superintendent  of  the 
Indiana  Baptist  Convention,  met  once 


23 


a  week  to  study  the  book,  ‘  ‘  The  Child  and 
America’s  Future.” 

The  Church  expected  to  spend  a  week 
under  the  instruction  of  Dr.  M.  D.  Eubank, 
M.D.,  of  China. 


At  Bible  School  Hour 


First  Baptist  Church 
Shingeehouse,  Pa. 

On  April  first  the  First  Baptist  Church 
of  Shinglehouse,  Pennsylvania,  started 
study  classes  in  the  Bible  School  according 
to  the  following  schedule: 


4 

3 

2 

2 

1 


2 

2 


classes  using  1  ‘ Stay  at  Home  Journeys’ ’ 
“  “  c ( Under  Many  Flags” 

“  “  “  The  Kingdom  and  the 

Nations” 

“  “Making  Life  Count” 

11  “  “Playing  Square  with 

Tomorrow” 


t  ( 
t  i 


t  ( 

n 


“From  Survey  to  Service” 
“World  Friendship,  Inc.” 

16  classes  in  all  with  a  total  class  attendance 
of  179. 


The  Department  of  Missionary  Educa¬ 
tion  provided  teachers’  helps  for  these 
classes. 

The  total  enrollment  of  this  Church 
School  of  Missions  was  greater  than  the 
total  church  membership. 

“The  Blue  Hills  Church  of  Hartford, 
Conn.,  which  has  a  local  membership  of 
100,  is  just  closing  its  first  School  of  Mis¬ 
sions.  The  pastor  worked  through  the 
existing  church  organizations  in  setting  up 
the  school,  first  choosing  capable  leaders 
for  the  four  study  groups. 


24 


“A  Primary  group  was  maintained  for 
the  convenience  of  parents  having  small 
children  they  could  not  leave  at  home.  The 
Junior  class  was  the  Junior  department  of 
the  Church  School.  The  Young  People’s 
Society  kindly  gave  up  their  Sunday  eve¬ 
ning  meeting  and  became  one  of  the  study 
groups.  The  Adult  section  was  composed  of 
all  above  the  age  of  the  Young  People’s 
group. 

“By  vote  of  the  church  the  School  con¬ 
vened  on  Sunday  evening.  The  people 
gathered  in  the  church  vestry  at  six  o’clock 
for  a  social  period  with  a  light  lunch.  Then 
came  a  five  minute  devotional  period  fol¬ 
lowed  by  forty-five  minutes  of  instruction. 
The  regular  course  on  China  formed  the 
basis  of  the  work  done.  After  the  study 
period  the  school  reassembled  for  a  ten 
minute  “surprise”  at  which  time  different 
sketches  illustrating  some  phase  of  the 
general  topic,  China,  were  enacted  by 
members  of  the  school. 

“At  the  regular  evening  service  hour  of 
the  church  a  varied  program  of  genera] 
missionary  interest  was  given  by  outside 
speakers.  The  Foreign  Work  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  was  presented  by  a  local  layman  sup¬ 
plemented  by  Mr.  D.  M.  Hsu,  secretary  of 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Chefoo,  China.  Mrs. 
May  Baker  of  Ongole,  India,  gave  two 
strong  addresses  and  there  were  two  illus¬ 
trated  lectures  given  by  our  state  officers, 
Mr.  E.  E.  Gates  and  Mr.  H.  B.  Sloat,  the 
latter  dealing  with  the  China  of  today. 
The  practical  application  of  the  whole 


2  5 


course  was  ably  presented  by  Miss  Mary 
Howard,  President  of  the  Woman’s  Bap¬ 
tist  Mission  Society  of  Connecticut. 

“The  School  was  easily  financed  by  a 
voluntary  offering  of  the  members.  There 
was  a  total  attendance  of  546  which  makes 
an  average  attendance  of  91  per  cent  based 
on  the  local  membership  of  the  church. 
Also  is  it  noteworthy  that  the  evening  at¬ 
tendance  of  the  church  more  than  doubled 
during  the  School. 

“The  Juniors  did  the  most  spectacular 
bit  of  work  as  they  set  up  under  the  gui¬ 
dance  of  adult  leaders  the  model  of  a 
Chinese  Mission  Hospital  as  given  in 
Friendship  Center. 

“It  is  planned  to  close  the  School  with 
a  week-night  gathering  at  which  a  group 
of  the  young  people  will  give  ‘Chee  Moo’s 
Choice,  ’  a  play  having  a  Chinese  reference. 
There  will  also  be  an  exhibit  of  the  Juniors’ 
work  and  Chinese  curios.” 

On  Prayer  Meeting  Night 

Mount  Vernon,  N.  Y.,  1923 

The  idea  of  a  Church  School  of  Missions 
took  definite  shape  at  the  Northern  Baptist 
Convention  at  Atlantic  City.  In  June  a 
committee  was  appointed,  made  up  of  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  each  of  the  principal  organ¬ 
izations  of  the  church:  the  Men’s  Club, 
Woman’s  Society,  the  World  Wide  Guild 
and  the  Sunday  School.  The  Baraca  and 
Philathea  classes  had  representatives  of 
their  own.  This  committee  met  once  be¬ 
fore  summer,  to  lay  plans,  appoint  sub- 

26 


committees,  and  act  as  an  advertising 
agency. 

“In  September  final  preparations  were 
made,  leaders  not  already  secured  were 
enlisted,  study  books  decided  upon  and 
dates  fixed.  The  School  was  set  up  as  fol¬ 
lows:  Six  Wednesday  nights  beginning 
October  17th  and  ending  November  21st, 
to  be  given  over  to  the  study  of  Japan,  for 
men,  women  and  young  people;  six  Sun¬ 
day  mornings  of  the  Church  School  to  be 
used  likewise  for  all  except  the  Primary 
and  Beginners  Department  and  the  Men’s 
Class ;  six  bi-weekly  meetings  of  the 
Younger  Women’s  branch  of  the  Woman’s 
Society  on  Monday  evenings,  beginning 
October  29th  and  carrying  through  till 
December. 

“The  whole  project  was  launched  on 
Sunday,  October  14th,  with  an  impressive 
pageant,  ‘Winning  Japan/  given  before 
the  whole  Sunday  School  by  members  of 
the  School,  and  by  a  stirring  sermon  by 
the  pastor  that  morning  on  ‘The  Christian, 
a  World  Citizen.’  These  two  factors  gave 
a  powerful  impetus  to  the  whole  thing. 

“As  can  be  seen,  the  aim  from  the  first 
was  to  make  it  a  church-wide  affair,  and 
the  groupings  were  made  with  that  in 
mind.  There  was  one  men’s  group  on 
Wednesday  nights,  with  an  enrollment  of 
over  35  and  an  average  attendance  of 
nearly  30.  There  were  two  women’s 
groups,  each  having  about  30.  The  young 
people’s  group,  of  young  men  and  women, 
likewise  had  about  35  enrolled.  Finally, 
a  group  of  teachers  in  the  High  School  De- 


27 


partment  of  the  Sunday  School  met  as  a 
group  on  Wednesday  nights  to  discuss  the 
material  and  manner  of  presentation  to 
their  classes  the  next  Sunday. 

“The  regular  procedure  on  these  Wed¬ 
nesday  nights  was  a  fifteen  minute  devo¬ 
tional  period  at  7 :45,  then  the  division 
into  classes  until  8 :45,  when  all  reassem¬ 
bled  for  any  special  feature  that  was 
planned.  On  the  second,  fourth  and  sixth 
sessions,  respectively,  we  were  fortunate  in 
having  Mr.  Galen  Fisher  (whose  book  the 
men  were  studying),  Mrs.  John  Dearing, 
and  Mr.  Theodore  Walser,  speak  to  us  out 
of  their  experience.  Those  three  addresses 
alone  would  have  made  the  School  worth 
while,  in  the  estimation  of  many,  aside 
from  the  profitable  study  of  the  books 
themselves. 

“All  the  leaders  of  the  groups  were  from 
our  own  people,  and  much  credit  is  due 
them  for  the  success  of  the  School.  The 
enthusiasm  and  patient  study  they  put  into 
it  carried  many  along  in  spite  of  them¬ 
selves,  and  aroused  an  abiding  interest  in 
the  missionary  enterprise. 

“In  the  Church  School,  the  Junior  and 
High  School  Departments  and  the  Baraca 
Class  gave  their  entire  attention  to  the 
study  for  the  six  weeks,  even  using  the  open¬ 
ing  worship  for  some  phase  of  the  study 
The  Juniors  used  ‘The  Honorable  Japa¬ 
nese  Fan’  for  their  study  book;  the  High 
School  Department,  ‘Japan  on  the  Up¬ 
ward  Trail,’  and  ‘The  Woman  and  the 
Leaven  in  Japan.’  Each  class  became 
automatically  a  study  group,  and  the 


28 


teacher  became  the  leader.  A  map  of 
Japan  was  provided  for  each  class,  also  a 
number  of  views,  both  of  the  earthquake 
and  fire,  and  of  Japanese  life  before  the 
earthquake.  The  treasury  of  the  Church 
School  bought  study  books  so  that  every 
child  might  be  sure  to  have  one,  which 
proved  to  be  a  wise  procedure. 

“The  Junior  Department  dramatized 
parts  of  their  book,  and  as  a  kind  of  clos¬ 
ing  time,  gave  their  dramatization  before 
the  whole  school  the  Sunday  following  the 
close  of  the  study.  It  made  such  an  im¬ 
pression  that  several  requests  came  in  to 
have  it  given  before  the  church,  which  was 
done  the  following  Sunday  at  the  time  of 
the  children’s  talk.  The  most  effective  part 
of  it  all  was  a  painting  on  a  canvas  screen, 
taken  from  the  cover  design  of  their  book, 
and  set  up  on  the  platform,  with  back 
binding  and  edges  of  leaves  made  out  of 
paper,  out  of  which  the  characters  stepped 
through  a  doorway  cut  in  the  screen.  The 
characters  literally  ‘came  out  of  the  book’ 
to  speak  to  us.  An  artist  in  the  church 
very  kindly  painted  the  scene,  and  much 
of  the  realistic  effect  was  due  to  his  brush. 

“The  High  School  Department  superin¬ 
tendent  carried  out  a  novel  plan  in  the 
opening  worship,  taking  the  children  on  an 
imaginary  trip  from  Mount  Vernon  to 
Japan  and  through  Japan  after  they  ar¬ 
rived.  Different  ones  spoke,  according  to 
what  they  were  most  familiar  with.  He 
took  the  first  part,  showing  how  one  goes 
about  it  to  make  the  trip  to  Vancouver  and 
thence  to  Japan.  Then  the  cause  of  earth- 


29 


quakes;  the  kind  of  buildings  that  have  to 
be  constructed  because  of  the  earthquakes; 
something  of  Japanese  life,  by  a  woman 
of  our  church  who  had  lived  there  four 
years,  and  Japan’s  position  in  relation  to 
the  other  Oriental  nations,  were  all  taken 
up  in  turn. 

“All  seem  to  have  felt  that  the  School 
of  Missions  was  well  worth  while.  Many 
have  said  so,  enthusiastically,  and  we  know 
of  several  who  have  become  interested  in 
the  work  of  the  church  and  are  now  regular 
attendants,  because  of  the  six  weeks’  course. 
Others  have  said  they  hoped  that  we  would 
have  another  course  in  the  near  future. 
A  few  very  naturally  could  not  get  over 
the  idea  of  ‘sacrificing’  the  regular  mid¬ 
week  prayer  meeting  for  such  a  thing  as 
the  study  of  Japan.  But  their  fear  was 
not  borne  out  by  the  facts,  for  the  prayer 
meeting  attendance  more  than  doubled 
during  the  six  weeks’  study,  going  from 
40  or  50  up  to  80  or  90,  with  an  attendance 
one  night  of  102.  Since  it  was  my  first 
experience  with  managing  one  of  these 
Schools,  and  the  first  time  to  my  knowl¬ 
edge  that  such  a  thing  has  been  done  in 
this  church,  the  attempt  was  not  as  thor¬ 
ough  or  complete  in  the  workings  as  we 
should  hope  it  would  be  another  time.  But 
it  was  an  honest  beginning,  and  for  the 
300  total  number  enrolled,  I  believe  it  ac¬ 
complished  the  goal  we  set  for  ourselves : 
‘An  increase  of  intelligent  love  for  the 
people  of  Japan.’ 

“Finally,  in  order  that  all  thought  of 
J apan  might  not  be  dropped  when  our 


30 


study  closed,  we  secured  a  list  of  Japanese 
students  and  young  business  men  in  Japan, 
from  which  different  groups  or  individuals 
might  select  a  name  and  start  a  correspon¬ 
dence.  So  far,  only  three  names  have  been 
appropriated,  one  by  a  woman’s  group,  and 
two  by  boys’  classes  in  the  Sunday  School. 
What  may  come  of  this  correspondence,  no 
one  can  as  yet  tell. 

On  Sunday  Evening 

Temple  Baptist  Church 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Every  church  can  do  it!  Temple  Church 
is  a  great  body  of  more  than  three  thousand 
people.  Of  course  it  can  put  on  big  things, 
but  other  churches,  large  and  small,  can  do 
the  same  on  a  large  or  lesser  plan. 

Temple  Church  has  always  been  strong 
in  the  spirit  of  Missions.  Each  summer  it 
sends  a  group  of  its  people  to  Asilomar, 
where  missionary  conferences  are  held,  and 
programs,  methods  and  objectives  are 
studied.  The  interest  return  on  the  invest¬ 
ment  is  immediate  and  dynamic.  Schools 
of  Missions  were  held  in  the  fall  of  1921 
and  1922.  This  established  a  precedent. 
Last  year— the  third— the  attendance  to¬ 
taled  4,391,  more  than  1,000  being  enrolled. 
The  last  night,  the  actual  attendance  was 
916.  There  were  two  months  of  intensive 
preparation  for  a  six  weeks’  school. 

The  General  Committee  consisted  of  the 
Director  of  Religious  Education,,  all  chair¬ 
men  of  sub-committees,  the  Director  of 
Dramatics,  secretary,  treasurer  and  libra- 


.21 


rian.  There  were  committees  on  music, 
decorations,  electric  lighting,  advertising 
and  special  features.  The  faculty  and 
assistants  numbered  twenty-five.  There 
were  numerous  other  helpers. 

A  circular  was  prepared  for  general  dis¬ 
tribution,  giving  names  of  courses,  teachers, 
age,  classifications  and  the  list  of  drama¬ 
tizations  to  be  given  each  night.  These 
were  distributed  by  the  Sunday  school 
pupils,  in  their  own  homes  and  immediate 
neighborhoods.  At  the  women’s  social 
circles,  for  weeks  prior  to  the  school,  thou¬ 
sands  of  yellow  paper  chrysanthemums  were 
made.  These,  with  enrollment  cards,  were 
given  to  every  member  of  the  congregation 
on  the  Sunday  morning  preceding  the  open¬ 
ing  of  the  school,  by  young  Japanese  men 
and  women,  after  a  missionary  sermon  by 
Dr.  B rougher. 

Burdette  Hall,  where  prayer  meetings 
and  social  functions  are  held,  was  decorated 
as  a  Japanese  garden.  Paper  lanterns 
(lighted  by  electricity)  were  hung.  Pop¬ 
corn,  colored  pink,  fastened  to  boughs, 
made  a  perfect  mass  of  i  i  cherry  blossoms  ’’ 
as  a  stage  background.  The  great  Buddha 
was  drawn  on  the  blackboard,  and  Mt. 
Fujiyama,  and  pagodas,  etc.  All  this  was 
done  a  week  before,  for  advertising  pur¬ 
poses. 

A  special  enrollment  card  was  prepared. 
Perforated  in  the  center,  one-half  gave 
name,  address  and  telephone,  and  on  the 
level se  side,  a  place  to  check  the  courses 
selected.  The  other  half  listed  the  drama¬ 
tizations,  text  books  and  school  directory. 

32 


A  button  was  also  prepared,  weeks  be¬ 
fore,  bearing  this  inscription:  “Temple 
Baptist  School  of  Missions,”  in  red  letter¬ 
ing  on  a  white  ground. 

It  was  Sunday  night  at  5 :30,  covering 
the  time  when  our  seven  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  Societies  met,  all  of  which  were 
temporarily  absorbed  in  the  School  of 
Missions.  This  is  a  better  time  than  prayer 
meeting  night,  if  it  is  worth  while  to  reach 
others  than  the  prayer  meeting  group.  The 
Christian  Endeavor  Societies  form  a  nucle¬ 
us.  It  relates  itself  to  the  church  services. 
It  tempts  outsiders  to  come  early.  It  dis¬ 
covers  a  large  number,  young  and  old,  for 
an  evangelistic  field.  It  widens  the  reach 
of  missionary  instruction.  It  makes  it  pos¬ 
sible  for  the  whole  family — even  when  there 
there  are  small  children — to  attend. 

Simultaneously,  however,  on  Wednesday 
nights,  Dr.  Hudson  gave  a  course  of  ad¬ 
dresses  on :  “  The  Authority  for  Missionary 
Enterprise.”  These  were  given  an  hour 
before  prayer  meeting,  and  were  attended 
by  hundreds.  The  subjects  were:  “The 
Authority  of  the  Scriptures”;  “The  Au¬ 
thority  of  a  Christian  Conscience”;  “The 
Authority  of  Human  Need” ;  “The  Author¬ 
ity  of  Success”;  etc. 

At  5 :30  sharp,  Mr.  Joy  called  the  School 
of  Missions  to  “attention.”  Necessary  an¬ 
nouncements  were  made.  Next,  some  fea¬ 
ture  of  interest  was  put  on,  such  as  a  group 
of  singing  Japanese  children;  a  Japanese 
choir  in  costume ;  a  tea  ceremony ;  etc.  At 
5.45  all  were  dismissed  for  separate  classes, 
these  being  arranged  for  men  and  women, 


33 


and  for  young  people  and  children,  accord¬ 
ing  to  age.  Classes  lasted  for  fifty  minutes, 
when  they  were  promptly  recalled  to  wit¬ 
ness  a  dramatization  requiring  twenty  min¬ 
utes.  Then  all  were  dismissed,  and  went 
to  reserved  seats  for  the  evening  service. 

On  the  Friday  night  after  the  closing 
Sunday  night,  a  great  concluding  pageant 
was  given,  representing  many  nationalities  : 
Italian,  Mexican,  Japanese,  Russian,  In¬ 
dian,  Negro,  etc.  and  the  church  as  the 
agency  in  Christian  Americanization. 
These  different  groups  sang  their  national 
anthems  and  folk  songs. 

The  results  of  the  School  were  far  reach¬ 
ing.  The  whole  church  was  awakened,  as 
never  before,  to  think  “Missions.”  The 
Christian  Endeavor  was  given  a  vision.  It 
showed  the  importance  of  pageantry.  It 
was  a  feeder  to  the  church.  The  whole 
family  had  something  in  common  for  home 
conversation,  and  a  common  interest  in  the 
Christian  world  program. 

Temple  Church  believes  in  a  Sunday 
night  School  of  Missions  once  a  year,  con¬ 
ducted  with  all  the  pep  and  color  and  char¬ 
acter  that  its  versatile  people  can  put  on. 

A  Five  Years’  Record 
First  Baptist  Church, 

Redlands,  Calif. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  of  Redlands, 
California,  has  held  a  Church  School  of 
Missions  for  five  seasons.  The  first  and 
second  sessions  used  the  regular  study  text¬ 
book,  while  the  third  used  “The  Survey.” 


34 


The  first  School  had  five  classes  ;  the  men 
averaging  35 ;  women,  44 ;  senior  B.  Y.  P. 
U.,  45 ;  high  school  B.  Y.  P.  U.,  23 ;  junior, 
23.  In  the  second  School  there  were  eight 
classes,  and  the  total  attendance  each  week 
ran  268,  275,  263,  276,  287,  294.  The  third 
session  of  five  weeks  with  seven  classes 
averaged  196. 

Results  noted  were:  reading  of  mission¬ 
ary  literature  was  increased ;  the  men 
organized  for  mission  study ;  a  desire  to  do 
as  well  as  study  Americanization  brought 
a  group  of  Japanese  children  into  the  Bible 
School. 

In  the  fourth  session  the  largest  atten¬ 
dance  was  321,  and  the  lowest  252.  The 
allotment  of  this  church  for  the  New  World 
Movement  was  $67,250.  The  church  sub¬ 
scribed  $68,185,  added  187  members  dur¬ 
ing  the  year,  and  reported  a  total  member¬ 
ship  of  663. 

The  fifth  session  had  eight  classes,  seven 
of  which  were  intensive.  There  were  464 
enrolled  and  an  average  attendance  of  375. 

According  to  the  report  received  May  1, 
1924,  Redlands  had  increased  its  member¬ 
ship  to  898  and  had  given  during  the  year 
over  $13,000  to  local  expenses  and  nearly 
$15,000  to  benevolences. 

Fine  Record  in  First  Church 

Los  Angeles,  1923-24 

The  First  Baptist  Church  of  Los 
Angeles,  California,  has  made  an  unusual 
record  during  the  past  year  from  both  an 
educational  and  financial  standpoint.  They 


35 


not  only  had  a  Church  School  of  Missions, 
but  also  organized  study  in  various  groups, 
aggregating  forty-seven  Mission  Study 
Classes,  which  entitled  them  to  650  points 
on  their  certificate.  This  is  the  highest 
educational  record  reported  in  any  of  the 
Northern  Baptist  Churches  last  year. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  pastor,  Dr.  James 
A.  Francis,  never  lets  a  Sunday  go  by  with¬ 
out  calling  attention  to  world  issues  and 
world  needs.  As  a  result  of  his  carefully 
prepared  educational  program,  the  church 
has  made  the  following  wonderful  record 
in  giving: 

$32,000  Home  Expenses 

$40,500  Missions 

$12,500  Other  Benevolences. 

This  makes  their  per  capita  giving  (resi¬ 
dent  members)  $27.00  for  Missions,  or 
$56.66  for  all  objects. 

Immediately  following  the  close  of  the 
fiscal  year,  their  objective  for  Missions  for 
1924-25  was  set  at  $45,000,  which  is  a 
fine  advance  in  view  of  the  building  project 
the  church  has  on  hand. 


36 


Sample  Class  Attendance 


37 


Sample  Church  Publicity  Material 


■s 

c$ 

■§ 

© 

m 


x 

o 

o 

U  U 

<L)  "o 

si 

O  +j 
ca  j 
<U  b£ 

^•s 


o 

•S* 

y  .2 

w  a 

<u 

’§)  « 

S  * 


H 


3 


o  >- 


si 

o 

h 

3 

•a 

U 

Fh  )h 

a;  o 

JCj 

y  3 

cd  3 


43 
O  . 
Fh 

3 

43 

u 


u 

D 

a 

T3  —i 

H 

> 

(B 

Q 


43 

H 


<u 

43 


w 

© 

•  rH 

Fh 

O 

-M 

m 

Pi 

O 

•rH 

GO 

CO 

•  rH 

a 


.2  « 
343 
3  •** 
t~ >•*■» 

Fh  rt 

3  bO 
O  c 
•  ^ 

3 
O  u 
o 

fca 

« & 
fl)  Cw 

JT3 
w  3 

^  r* 

<u  c 

O 


8  a 

W33 

•  H 
C/3  > 

C/3 

©is 


a 

o 

w 


CQ 

P4 

O 

w 

s 

p 

R 


cB 

o 

to 

•  H 

43 

H 


00 

© 

Fh 

P 

-M 

& 

© 

fH 

Fh 

c3 

Pi 

O 

•  rH 
CO 

m 


© 

•rH 

© 

© 

P< 

OQ 

© 

rO 


£ 

© 

Fh 

43  00 

^  P 
© 

a 
© 
_  o 
Qj  Pi 

P 

£ 

-4> 


^3 
© 
•  rH 
Fh 
© 


O 

Pi 

PI 


°£? 
bO  g 

,a  £ 


•+H 

© 

© 

a 


fn 


Fh 

O 

«H 

Fh 

<P 


d 

Fh  ,_ 

Pi  d 


p 

© 


© 

43 


© 

43 


3-3 

HH> 

c3 

£ 


© 

43 


P 

42 

© 

t 

m 

© 

m 

m 

d 

*c3 

© 

£ 

«H 

O 

BO 

Fh 

© 

© 

a 

Fh 

O 

«H 

© 

o 

'o 

r\ 

o 

CO 


d 

T3 

© 

t> 

Fh 

© 

CO 

© 


£ 


© 

© 

PI 

c£ 

t> 

f©! 

d 


Fh 
© 

PH  Pi 

P^-rH 

P 


OQ 


to 

HH> 

© 

M 

© 


39 


Address . 

YES 

SUPPER — jvjq  (Detach  enrollment  slip  and  hand  in) 


1.  “HOW  THEN  SHALL  THEY  CALL  ON 

HIM  IN  WHOM  THEY  HAVE  NOT  BE¬ 
LIEVED  ?  And 

2.  ‘  ‘  HOW  SHALL  THEY  BELIEVE  IN  HIM 

OF  WHOM  THEY  HAVE  NOT  HEARD  ? 

And 

3.  “How  SHALL  THEY  HEAR  WITHOUT 

A  PREACHER  ?  AND 

4.  “HOW  SHALL  THEY  PREACH  EXCEPT 

THEY  BE  SENT?’  ’ 

—Rom.  10 : 14-15. 


re 


T  IS  strange  how  some 


Christians  can  with- 


I 

hold  from  the  world , 
without  compunction,  the 
best  news  that  ever  came 
into  it.” 


No.  239-M.E.-II-5M-October,  1926. 


